Lighter in text

This is going to be a light post...lighter in text and heavier in images.

This post is also for Pat at  Sunshine and sewing basket blog who particularly requested some photos of the processions.

I wanted to get these photos out to you as soon as possible of the different Holy week processions as they really are spectacular.   Unfortunately my new mobile phone with enhanced camera functionality ( the main reason I decided to buy a new mobile phone) is so enhanced that it is hiding its functionality from me at present therefore my own photos taken at the processions were rubbish!  I have therefore relied on these quite wonderful photos taken by a local photographer on Gente by Alicante

Preparing the floats outside of the Hermita de Santa Cruz situated below the Santa Barbara castle walls. This is the oldest area of the city.

The first float with the representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus . The narrowest street in Alicante's old quarter and it is impossible to get more people into that street.

The main event,bringing Christ on the Cross down from the Hermitage. A very tricky descent and this float weighs a bomb. They are ducking here so the cross does not get entangled in the telephone wires. It is considered a privilege to be allowed to carry the Christ and very often handed down from father to son. The crucifix is taken to the cathedral and later returned to the hermitage. The climb back up all those steps is another impressive procession!

The Christ from Santa Cruz meets up with the Christ of the Sea at the door to the cathedral

The Holy week coming to an end and Christ Resurrected encounters Our Lady of Joy in the Town Hall square.

Look at the Virgin's cape!!!!

and the next event is "La Santa Faz"which is on 1st May this year. 

Amanda :-)

Puff Candy

Impossible!!!

I just can't leave them alone!   I've put everything else to one side and I'm on a baby vintage bonnet making bing!!!!!
Although this is not my own pattern but comes from Tamara Kelly on Moogly . I have called this bonnet Puff Candy because the stitch, which isn't the popcorn stitch incidentally, and the puff colours remind me of candy or marshmallows.

 I have also tweaked it adding 2 sc rows as edging and crocheted cords with a triple puff at each end. I was thinking that I could add a little bell inside each triple puff so it would tinkle everytime baby moves her head around.   However I've been blessed or cursed with a vivid imagination and I began to think about those bells and began to imagine the possibility of baby sucking and biting through the triple puffs and swallowing the little bells. You know I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to a baby because I was not cautious enough when making a garment for a child. Therefore I decided to foresake the pretty bells all together.

 I used Red Heart Baby Soft in pink and Coats SMC Micro Grande Soft in white and Coats Bravo Grey and Fuchsia yarn and a Nº 5 crochet hook.

 This is another stash buster make and I'll be joining the April Stash busting party again on Linda's blog ,Crafty Corner.    

 At the same time I'd like to give a shout out about Linda's guess the colour giveaway. Well worth a visit!!!

You may remember that I made a Bear Beanie in February for my Great Niece who lives in Devon,which I posted about here. Her mother has just sent me some snapshots where she is wearing the Bear Beanie and has given me permission to display a photo of G here on my blog modelling my Beanie....which she is delighted with, so her mother says. 

Isn't she a cute model!!!!

Usual Sunday outing this morning!   It is a fabulous day today...... 25 degrees!   

 We went for a walk along the beach promenade but ....I'm not walking along the promenade envious of the people on the beach anymore ....I'm for the beach and for a swim next week!  

Postiguet Beach,Alicante

Sr P as usual with his back to the camera

It is Holy Week as from next Wednesday and I hope to be able to finish work and get up to Santa Cruz in the old quarter and see the procession. I also hope I get there on time to hear the Saeta ( a very old type of religious song sung only at Holy Week when the Cristo goes pass. Absolutely nothing like a hymn!!!) .  I have been lucky enough to hear the Saeta once, some years back and it brought tears to my eyes. Impressive!  

I mentioned on a previous post Sr P is not at all religious in fact quite the opposite but every year he tries to get up to see the Santa Cruz procession. It is part of their culture and tradition, part of the Alicantinos themselves.

Roll on Easter and a few days to relax!!!

Amanda :-)

B..B..B..B..B for Bonnets

 March brought with it a continuation of the blustery gale like weather Alicante has been experiencing these last few months and very little rain...quite tedious! It seems although the sharp chill in the air has decreased and we have some lovely blue skies, the strong winds are still with us!

Last Sunday we decided to turn towards  the other side of Alicante for our Sunday outing.

As we were at a bit of an odds with the change in hour we left the house later than we usually do. This meant we couldn't go too far afield so we went down to the Sailing club at the end of the Postiguet Beach. We wanted to see how much progress the council had made with the continuation of the new promenade. It was still a dirt track but more kilometers had been cleared so we could walk quite a way and in fact link up with the Albufereta beach. It is a beach we hadn't been to for quite some years.
It was a great walk and even more so as you can see from these photos as the sea was quite vocal and wild that morning. It can certainly not compare with the ferocious Atlantic and the terrible storms in Galicia or the UK over the previous months at all. This was a mini spectacle in comparison  in fact I'd say it was quite enjoyable and drew forth quite a few spectators.

Why do we get so excited when we see big waves???

At least the public there didn't do stupid ,daft things like I had seen on TV coverage and on the web during the big storms elsewhere. I wish people would learn that you don't mess with Mother Nature....silly people!     
Now then...... The Med is a usually a quiet sea which gets a bit irate occasionally but it is blessed with a calm nature most of the time.

It was a bit upset last Sunday!

The Spanish fishermen call the sea La Mar using the feminine gender when they refer to HER temperament ....she wasn't her normal splendid greeny blue at all that morning!

Mind you the sun still shone and managed to evade the clouds....

Sr P doesn't much like having his photo taken so get used to seeing his back .... I've given up asking him to turn around!!!!

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I've just finished another Beanie for my little great niece. I think I have been influenced by the March Winds as it it is quite curly and has a big breezy flower on the top. My own pattern. I just went along adding this and that ..very free style....la di dah!!!

 It seems to be all beanies now and I'm getting quite fed up of them;making them that is!
I decided to turn back to a more vintage style and found this adorable pattern at KatieCooksand Crafts  which I made up for my other great niece.

 Are you shocked by the colour? I didn't want to make it in a traditional pastel color. I had this urge for something totally different and as my 15 month old great niece is a red head I thought green would do nicely.

The front looks a little drab but when you turn it around there's a shine of colour there on the back.

I so enjoyed making it.

 I used the nice soft Coats SMC Micro Grande in all colours and a Nº 4 hook and it was made in a jiffy.

Good news for  all.
Emma at the Log Cabin is back with a lovely new blog called Cosy Red and she would be delighted if old and new followers could pop in to say hello.


Enjoy your weekend!!

Amanda :-)

That smell reminds me of my childhood

Do some Smells remind you of your childhood?

                   You are probably wondering why I have launched a photo of Dettol here and no I do not own stocks and shares in the company Reckitt & Benckiser who manufacture Dettol! Actually these thoughts of how smells trigger memories came about after reading Betsy's post on her blog The simple life of a Queen   where she mentions how she likes the smell of bleach in the bathroom. One thought lead to another and I was reminded of how much I love the smell of Dettol disinfectant in the bathroom and kitchen. It always reminds me of my Dad who used it in abundance ......I get a whiff of dettol and can picture my childhood home and my Dad straight away. He was a great believer of  the use of DETTOL.       However not all is sweet memories in the world of smell as Fairy liquid lemon makes my stomach turn, all due to the fact that when I was pregnant I could just catch a tiny whiff of that detergent and it would bring on a bout of sickness. Even to this day I never buy nor can I stand Fairy Liquid Lemon.

Have you ever noticed that a certain smell can bring forth a rush of vivid memories?

However my comments on Dettol do not end here. I was utterly disgusted to find that when I  moved to live in Spain that Dettol was NOT sold in Spain and the only form of general disinfectant to be found was bleach. Just like Betsy I do like the smell of bleach and it gives the impression that my bathroom is nice and clean when I smell it but I missed the Dettol.   It really niggled me in that I couldn't get it or find anything remotely like it. Therefore every time I went home to the UK I would bring some Dettol with me and use it very sparingly. Any member of the family who came for a visited had to also bring Dettol rations with them . In that way I managed to maintain most of the time a Dettol whiff in the bathroom and kitchen of my home.  I have been fortunate to find that over the last few years Dettol has sometimes been sold in the little British supermarkets that are situated in the beach resorts in this area. I travel 30 minutes by car each month approximately to go to Quick Save to buy my bottle of Dettol although sometimes they don't have any in stock!
I really don't know why it is not sold here in Spain!
I'd like to launch a request to the Dettol company.  I would be most grateful if you could open up a market for your product here in Spain so I don't have to travel 30 minutes every month to get my supply although sometimes I travel there for nothing as it isn't in stock!   Thank you nicely!

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My makeover is complete and the trim attached and I feel quite pleased I have managed to salvaged a badly frayed gauze scarf. I'm very much a scarf and shawl person and that particular scarf is one of my favourites as being black it goes with most anything. It now has a new lease of life and also looks like a different scarf all together. I used some Nº 5 Cotton that I had over ,a Nº 2.00 crochet hook and some black/blue pearl beads which was my own personal tweak to this pattern.
 It is not my pattern. I picked it up quite some time ago online and I'm afraid I don't know where from now. Nevertheless should I come across the webpage again or should the designer recognize it and like to send me a message I will certainly attribute it to you here.

Welcome ,welcome to my new follower!

 BE GOOD NOW!!!!

Amanda :-)

A Me! Me!

This is a post about looking out for Number 1 or to clarify concentrating on oneself for once.

I cannot tell all until this blocking is finished but you can see it is a trim so wonder away for the moment. Neither is it something out of this world but I must admit I feel quite pleased that I have managed to do something for myself.

Trims blocked this morning before going out for our walk. The front room windows left open hoping the trims will dry nice and quick.

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However I am learning to draw the line now at out of the immediate family requests from neighbours,students and friends of my daughter.In fact I find it quite amazing the audacity of some people " I'll pay you for the yarn of course" of course you would have to Mrs I don't know your name friend of my daughter no mention of my time or how much do you charge. Why do some people think you can whisk something up for them in a jiffy and for free??   I have now got to the point where I reply politely I do occasionally accept orders.Do you want me to give you a price?  However to date no one has got back to me when I say that!!!   Fine with me as I don't really want to take any orders as yet.


Sunday morning stroll and what a glorious Sunday morning too. We went for a walk to the city centre and then down to the Postiguet beach not really worrying about time or where we were going…letting off steam and brushing the cobwebs away…the best of walks!!

Luceros Plaza. Alicante City Centre

Bit hazy…sorry!
Luceros Plaza built in the 20s and the impressive fountain built in 1930.
The horses at the base of the fountain represent the four wandering stars;Dawn,Morning,Afternoon and Evening…..and the horse symbol also represents abundance and generosity. The Horse was considered in some legends and mythology to be a water divinity, having the ability to make water flow from the soil on striking the earth with its hooves!

Postiguet beach. Alicante City.
Lots of people had the same idea as we did and there were several people swimming although I thought the wind was quite cold.

Bit hazy again….mobile phone shots!!!

Postiguet beach again  and bridge over to the old quarter of the town.



Hope you are all having a lovely relaxing Sunday!!!!

Amanda :-)

Much of a muchness

It has been a tedious last two weeks with boring incidents which I'm not going to go into because they aren't the most exciting things to talk about....lets just say if I were to take notes about my last two weeks. They would probably look like this

• health ,swollen painful legs,ER from 11am to 6pm ....DVT scare,only a scare ,injections for 30 days,trying to fit in work with daily visit to nurse for injections, no service at weekends except ER,looking for someone,found,injections covered for weekend, thank you daughter of a friend, seven days later still painful but better,support stockings fall down,looking forward to having a leg back!
•  

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Is it something I said?


Lost 4 of my followers... or rather they have left me and it can't be what I've said more like because I haven't and don't say much.... Let it be known I would like to but it seems this is the way it is going to be for the present dear bloggers . I lurk and read lots though :-)



R.I.P to Paco de Lucia ...fabulous guitarist

Listen to this ...

wonderful!!!!!    Concierto of Aranjuez!!!!



Bit more stash busting . Bear Beanie for another great niece! Although I have tweaked here and there the basic pattern is from Janet Carrillo "damn it Janet, let’s crochet!" found here

Latest PuddyNews!  Orange has gone to Holland to his new forever home. He is a very lucky lad because he is in the best of homes...a vet's home!!!    

I'll be broadcasting details of a new puddy cat looking for a loving forever home pretty soon.
I have loads to choose from!  

OK Updating .........Josh my March cat is now displayed here at the top of my page. Good luck Josh.....with all the lovely bloggers out there in blogland I am sure you'll find a fantastic family soon :-)

Amanda :-)

It had to be today!

Today is the right day for it I told myself!

I am going to tell you what I received from my swap partner....ok no groaning,or mumbling about it being another display of swap goodies....no swapping over to facebook now ...bear with me and admire the generosity of my Send a little Love swap partner; PJ at The Snail Garden

Hosted by  Tracy at Mad about Bags.

 First of all I have to tell you it was I like what you like from the very start. Quite canny really!!!
PJ collects jugs...I collect jugs....PJ loves cats....me too!   She is a button fanatic.....you guessed right me too! ......and so it goes on!!! 
She loves crochet too!
She is in fact a fantastic crocheter just look here and I think you will agree with me!



You just know the goodies are going to be scrumptious when this sort of loveliness spills out of the parcel or rather spilled out of this:

 

and then see this 

I literally gave a sigh when I saw these gorgeously wrapped gifts ....all shapes and sizes! I felt like rubbing my hands together like Fagin in Oliver Twist (do you know what I mean??)

I just knew I was going to enjoy unwrapping these parcels!!

and I was right

look......

 I'm going to leave you to comment as I am quite speechless!

and this 

sparkling heart bookmarker

and buttons .... heart buttons!!

some chocolate which rapidly disappeared ....a lovely pouch....and some delicate rose soap :-)

A hanging heart!

I so heart all of this!

Heavan....I am so lucky!!!

Thank you so much PJ .....very very generous!

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You may have noticed I have changed the comment settings here to registered OpenID .....I'm trying it out for the time being because I have been inundated with Annoymous comments....spam comments. I'm talking about receiving 20 to 30 a day. I'm fed up of it so I hope by changing my settings I will get rid of it!!!

and finally:

Bless his heart Sr P didn't forget!

Happy Valentine's Day

Amanda :-)